Bouquet-maker Maureen Tobin reaches across the table for a bundle of slender stems, embellished with a crown of white blooms. "Let me have a whiff again," Tobin said, gesturing toward her colleague.

"People come in here and say, 'It smells amazing,'" said Larry Joseph, one of three bouquet-makers at Flowers by Cindy, a flower wholesale business in East Naples.

The team agrees, Larry's favorite — the white stock flower — is to thank for their workplace's staple scent. Before roses, gerberas and tulips make their way into the intricate arrangements and bouquets found in hotels and country clubs across Collier County, they have a long and arduous journey ahead of them.